Rosa Khutor's deputy chief Alexander Belokobylsky said there was a "crazy rise" in visits in the first two years after the Olympics.

Numbers have still been rising, by five to seven percent per year, he said, with some 920,000 skiers visiting Rosa Khutor during last year's season.

"As you can see, doubts over what would happen to Olympic infrastructure were pointless," Belokobylsky said.

The resort's main village is in a valley 500 metres (1,640 feet) above sea level. Cable cars take skiers to the top of the slopes at an altitude of 2,320 meters (7,600 feet), with impressive views of the Caucasus and — in good weather — the Black Sea.

Belokobylsky said the resort's target audience is Russians who usually ski in Europe. The ruble has lost almost half of its value against the euro since 2014, making skiing holidays in Western Europe expensive for Russians.

"By comparing what they see here to what they see abroad, they are impressed. For many it's unexpected," he said.

Inspired by Rosa Khutor's success, Russian authorities are trying to take this model to other Caucasus resorts.

The government has announced plans to invest 41 billion rubles ($626 million/547 million euros) to modernise three other ski resorts in the region, including at Mount Elbruz, Europe's highest peak.

Similarly to Europe, alpine skiing remains a luxury many in Russia cannot afford and accommodation in Rosa Khutor is scarce.

According to independent research firm TourStat, only four million Russians — less than three percent of the population — practise the sport.

On the slopes of Rosa Khutor, Anton Kravchuk — who worked in Andorra for two years before returning to Russia to teach skiing — said his countrymen are getting better at the sport.

"Four years ago, we mainly taught beginners," he said. "The level has improved greatly, now we mostly teach in the highest part of the resort."